Thursday, September 18, 2008

A Minor Muse Out Of Season

"Simon Peter said to him, 'Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.' "

No matter what part of the year we're in liturgically, I come back those words of St. Peter. I find his surrender to Christ so poignant and so telling of a man who, in his heart, wants to inherit the kingdom Jesus often preached to his followers about. Peter does not want a destiny that will separate him from his Master, despite the fact that he will have denied Jesus three times at a crucial moment in his life.

Jesus braved Peter's denial just as he did the subsequent events that would begin to unfold later that same night - with the Resurrection. What captures my attention is, once again, Peter's albeit imperfect love for Jesus. Peter's love falters when confronted by people who accuse him of associating with the "Nazarene, Jesus." He repudiates Jesus a total of three times, and after the third denial, the cock crowed a second time and he recalled the sequence his Master prophesied before breaking down to "cry profusely." Peter loved Jesus. He just happened to be, like most of us, a man of little faith.

Also, have you noticed that after the Resurrection Jesus does not come after his wrongdoers for vengeance or violence? None of them faced immediate retribution from God ("Forgive them, for they know not what they do") nor did they suddenly drop dead at the second Jesus was Resurrected. There is a great moral lesson to be learned here. Instead of applying the eye for an eye tradition, or seeking retaliation against those who do us harm and injustice, it might be better to patiently bear those moments to the end and let God have the final say, just as he did with the Resurrection.

Your second last paragraph reminded me of this Sunday's readings from Isaiah:'My thoughts are not your thoughtsMy ways are not your ways'

We can strive to be like God but we will always be imperfect - I can't count how many times I later want to kick for myself for things that I do. . . but I guess that is why Our Lord has given us the Sacrament of Confession.